Principality of Goroden (Grodno)
The Principality of Goroden was an autonomous principality with a center in Goroden (Grodno), which existed in the 12th century . It broke up into two separate principalities (Novogrudok and Volkovysk), which came under the control of the Lithuanian princes in the 1240s in unknown circumstances. Data from chronicles The Principality of Goroden was first mentioned in the chronicles of 1127 (1128)Гродно // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона : в 86 т. (82 т. и 4 доп.). — Sankt Petersburg, 1890—1907. in connection with the participation of the local prince Vsevolodko of Goroden in the great campaign of the prince of Kiev Mstislav the Great against the Princes of Polotsk. Mstislav was Vsevolodko's brother-in-law, as he had married Vladimir Monomakh's daughter Agafia. Up to 1183 in the chronicles mentioned the princes of Goroden Vsevolodkovichi - usually in connection with the military campaigns of Monomakhovich . The marriage of two of Vsevolodko's daughters was organized in 1144 (after his death) by Vsevolod II Olgovich. Throughout the 12th century chronicles record the "subordinate position of the princes of the city in relation to Kiev" , which contrasted sharply with the independence of their neighbors - the Izyaslavichi of Polotsk. Aleksandr Nazarenko restores the following sequence of the princes of Goroden Назаренко А.В. - Городенское княжество и городенские князья в XII в. // Древнейшие государства Восточной Европы. — Moscow, Восточная литература, 2000, pp. 169—188. : * Vsevolodko of Goroden (bef.1117-1141); * Boris Vsevolodovich of Goroden (1141-bef.1166) Рудаков В. Е. - Борис Всеволодович // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона : в 86 т. (82 т. и 4 доп.). — Sankt Petersburg, 1890—1907. ; * Gleb Vsevolodovich of Goroden (bef.1166-1170); * Mstislav Vsevolodovich of Goroden (1170-aft.1183). After 1183, there are no new data about the Principality of Goroden in Russian chronicles. In the second quarter of the 13th century, its territory became part of the Lithuanian principality . To fill the gap up to 1241, the name of prince Yuri Glebovich is sometimes quoted in the literature , but the source of this information is unclear. Interpretation of the data in historiography Descendency from the Principality of Volhynia The father and patronymic of the first prince of Goroden, Vsevolodka, is not mentioned in ancient sources . In the XVII century, the compiler of the Gustyn annals, which include many inaccurate statements, called the husband of Agafia "Vsevolod Davydovich of Chernigov." Based on this statement, V.N. Tatishchev was looking for an old Russian city of Goroden near Chernigov (such as Gorodnya), and assumed that Vsevolodka's father was Davyd Svyatoslavich, prince of Chernigov. The assumption of a Chernigov ancestry of Vsevolodka is not credible as David Svyatoslavich's son, Vladimir Davydovich, was married to Vsevolodka's daughter. In the final edition of his "History" Tatishchev identified Vsevolodka's father as Davyd Igorevich, the ruler of the more closely geographically Principality of Volyn,. In making this assumption, he was probably guided, by the patronymic "Davydovich", which the compiler of the Gustyn annals gave to Vsevolodka. The assumption of a descendency from from Davyd Igorevich was repeated uncritically by Nikolai Karamzin and Sergei Solovyov, after which it became generally accepted . As Davyd Igorevich ruled south of Pripyat, Karamzin considered it incorrect to identify Vsevolodko's capital Goroden with modern Grodno and tried to search for the capital in the Pripyat basin, namely, in the vicinity of Pinsk. Meanwhile, all the lands of the Dregovichi (Turov, Pinsk and Berestye, originally associated with them) had been included during those years in territory ruled by Svyatopolk Izyaslavich of Kiev domain. Finally, the dispute over the localization of the capital of the Principality of Goroden in favor of Grodno, on the Neman, was decided during the Soviet era by Nikolai Voronin's excavations. Nikolai Voronin does not question Tatishychev's thesis about the descendency of the Goroden dynasty from the princes of Volhynia, but suggests that Davyd Igorevich, while still prince of Volhynia attempt to penetrate beyond the Neman river and gain a foothold in the area Воронин Н. Н. - Древнее Гродно (по материалам археологических раскопок 1932—1949 гг. — Moscow, 1954.. Descendency from the land of the Dregovichi Alexander Nazarenko objects to the descendency of Vsevolodka from the Volyn Prince Davyd Igorevich for reasons both geographic and genealogical. From the point of view of geography Prinemanya borders not with Volhynia, but with the lands of Dregovichi , in particular, with Principality of Berestia, whose rulers in 1112 and earlier went to war against Lithuania in Yatvingagi. This indicates that in 1112 the principalities of Berestia, Goroden and Dorogichinsk were a single entity. This would imply that Vsevolodko Davydovich and his wife, Agafya Vladimirovna, were second cousin, and too closely related for the marriage to be accepted. In church law, such marriages were considered incestuous, while the initiator of marriage, Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev was praised by the clergy for abiding to ecclesiastic rules . To remove these objections, Aleksandr Nazarenko searches for Vsevolodka's father among the rulers of the Principality of Berestia at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries . They were descendants of Izyaslav Yaroslavich of Kiev from the Turov-Pinsk dynasty, Mstislav Svyatopolkovich, and after his death, the latter's cousin, Yaroslav Yaropolchich (son of Yaropolk Izyaslavich). According to the chronicles Vsevolodka's daughter married Yuri Yaroslavich' (son of Yaroslav Svyatopolchich, and such a marriage would have been canonically inadmissible. Therefore, Nazarenko argues that the ancestor of the princes of Goroden was Yaroslav Yaropolchich. In this case, the descendants of Svyatopolk ruled in Turov, and the descendants of Yaropolk Izyaslavich in Goroden. It can be assumed that carving out the principality of Goroden from the territories ruled by Yaroslav Svyatopolchich was decided by Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev, around 1117, in relation of his daughter's marriage to Vsevolodka, as part of the general redistribution of principalities that followed the death of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich of Kiev in 1113. These years were marked by the campaigns of Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev against Yaroslav Svyatopolkovich, as well as his probable ally, Gleb of Minsk. It is possible that the condition of the peace treaty was the creation of the separate Principality of Goroden from the Yaroslav's possessions. The structure and culture of the principality The founder of the principality of Goroden, Vsevolodko, died in 1142. The chronicle suggests that his descendants, the Vsevolodkovichi, stence in the principality of at least one more ruling at the same time. Judging by the fact that the stone construction were built, not only in Goroden, but also in in Vaukavysk and Novogrudok, it can be assumed that one of the Vsevolkovich brothers (Boris or Gleb) ruled in one of these cities (most likely in Novogrudok, as the cathedral church there, as and in the capital city, had a dedication to St. Boris and Gleb). The heyday of the principality is connected with the fact that the princes of Goroden controlled the trade route from Neman to the Dnieper. One of the routes passed along the left tributary of Neman Roshi, then by continuing to Yaselda and Pripyat. The second route went along the tributary of the Neman of the Western Berezina, continuing to Svisloch and Berezina . The second half of the 12th century was a period of flourishing of Grodno culture, which is evidenced by a special architectural style , the only surviving example of which is the Kolozhskaya church in Grodno. In 1184, Goroden was devastated by a fire, after which several more stone buildings were erected there. After 1184, information about the princes of Goroden disappear from the annals disappear. These sphragistics point to the dynastic proximity of the rulers of Goroden, Dorogichin and Volkovysk and at the end of the 12th century. On many seals there is an image of St. Simeon (according to NN Voronin, this was the Christian name of Vsevolodka, the ancestor of local princes. [4 The plinth of the princely palace in Goroden preserves the princely marks of Vsevolodovichi ("a two-tooth with a crossed lower spur, slightly bent to the left") . Decline The fate of the principality of Goroden in the 13th century can not be traced by sources. It is also unknown when exactly and how the so-called. Black Russia was included in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The Vsevolodovich family probably continued to rule for some time, as vassals of Lithuanian princes. Judging by the name, it belonged to the Vaukavysk prince Gleb, in the 1250s (according to the news of the Galician-Volhynian annals) he recognized the power of Wojselka over himself . Probably, in 1224 the town was ravaged by German knights, in 1241 - by the Mongol-Tatars . In 1250, for a short time, was captured by Daniel Galitsky , and then returned to Mindaugas. His son Roman Daniilovich of Halych Galician prince planted in Novogrudok, married the daughter of the mentioned Gleb Volkovysk. For further history of this area, see Black Russia . Notes See also * * Городцовское княжество Literature * Ермолович, Николай Иванович - Старажытная Беларусь. Полацкі і Навагародскі перыяд. — Minsk, 1990. References * Генеалогия городенских князей Category:Principality of Goroden (Grodno) Goroden Grodno Category:Established in 1117 Category:Disestablished in 1183